Frys had a quad core HP system with everything my little heart desired for under $900 last week. Wait for it again - it was a real beaut.
When you look at your F@H points here:
http://folding.extremeoverclocking.com/user_summary.php?s=&u=276174
look at the blue banner overhead for Extreme Deals. You’ll need IE to allow the EXTREMEOverclocking.com site to get click-ponts, but they have some really good deals.
I tend to stay away from Dell consumer systems, especially notebooks.
For what you are doing, get a desktop system. If you want to rack up the points for F@H, get a quad-core system.
In general, buy an AMD 4800+ to get the additional L2 cache.
Buying an Intel Core 2 Duo is even better. Aim for the E6750 and E6850 if you can find affordable systems.
Stay away from Vista if you can. I find it too frustrating to teach folks that are used to XP. It seems that M$ has set up the security features to convince us to stop computing completely.
If you buy a refurbished system get a store warranty. I know, pure profit for the store, but you need a hammer if anything needs repair in 91 days.
Look closely at the new iMacs. Everything you will want, plus an easier time to relearn the operating system.
Best purchase today for Intel quad core:
ZT Affinity 7401Ti Minitower for $799
For Dual 2 Core:
HP REFURB¹: Pavilion a1720n Minitower for $449 at CompUSA.com
For AMD:
HP Pavilion Media Center m7750n Refurbished (AMD 64x2 5000+/2GB Memory/400GB) at Frys for $529.
Add in a decent 24” screen and you’ll be in new computing lands.
If you end up needing more memory, look here:
Crucial Ballistix 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory for $62.99 after Rebate, Shipped Free! (from EOC Deals)
And for that 24” flat panel:
Mwave - KDS 24 Inch Widescreen LCD Monitor with 1920x1200 Resolution, HDMI, 5ms Response and 400cd/m2 Brightness for Only $379.99!
Or just save time and energy and get this:
Any comments from the Apple side of the world?
Any price reductions between now and Thanksgiving?
I’m not buying any new computers for awhile. I’ve read too much about Vista and have no desire to have to deal with it till they get bugs out of it.
Try this one:
Pick up some extra RAM at newegg.com and take your pick of 256Mb video cards and you are still sitting comfortably under $1500.
Any decision yet?
Good luck. You're looking at Apple.
Well, I fumbled with the RAID for a bit but finally got the striped drives working. I had no trouble using the XP disks from my old system. All the drivers have loaded no problem. The only problem is that the new system overloads my UPS and I have to order a bigger one.
All in all, I am quite pleased. I have already completed another WU in F@H and I am impressed with the speed and stability so far. I will give more feedback if I run into any unusual problems or pleasant surprises.
Thank You All for your support and feedback!